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CultureChapter 3What Is Culture?Culture: Totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behaviorIncludes ideas, values, customs, and artifacts of groups of peopleWhat is Culture?Material culture physical or technological aspects of our daily livesNonmaterial culture - beliefsNon Material CultureValues culturally defined standards which serve as broad guideline for social living

Beliefs- specific statements which people hold to be trueNon Material CultureNorms rules and expectations by which society guides the behavior of its members

Mores norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance

Folkways norms for routine, casual interactionWhat is the purpose of culture?Our major mode of adaptation Sets limits on behavior and guides us along predictable pathsBecomes internalizedDoxa things so deeply internalized that they come to be seen as natural

Characteristics of CultureCulture is shareduniquelyCulture is learnedCultural transmission passing of cultural traits from one generation to the next

Characteristics of CultureCulture is based on symbolsSymbol anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share cultureLanguage a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with each otherLanguage is our most important symbolic systemEnsures the continuity of cultureSapir-Whorf Hypothesis people perceive the world through the cultural lens of languageCharacteristics of CultureCulture is integratedCannot change one element without impacting anotherCultural integration close relationship among various elements of a cultural systemCultural lag period of maladjustment when on element of culture changes and disrupts a systemChange caused by Innovation introducing a new idea or object Invention creating new elementsDiscovery understanding an idea not fully understood beforeDiffusion spread of cultural traits

Culture and SocietySociety is the largest form of human groupCommon culture simplifies day-to-day interactionsCulture influences human behavior

Cultural UniversalsCultural universal: certain common practices and beliefs that all societies have developedMany adaptations to meet essential human needsMurdoch listed cultural universals but they are expressed differently from culture to cultureEthnocentrismEthnocentrism: Tendency to assume that ones own culture and way of life represents the norm or is superior to othersOur view of the world is dramatically influenced by the society in which we were raisedCultural relativism: Peoples behaviors from the perspective of their own cultureDifferent social contexts give rise to different norms and valuesCultural RelativismCultural DiversityHigh culture cultural patterns that distinguish a societys elitePopular culture cultural patterns that are widespread among a societys populationSubcultures cultural patterns that distinguish some segment of a societys populationCultural DiversityCounterculture cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted in societyTechnologyGerhard Lenski - Cultural information about the ways in which the material resources of the environment may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.Culture and the Dominant IdeologyDominant ideology: Set of cultural beliefs and practices that help maintain powerful interests, including:Social interestsEconomic interestsPolitical interests